Atletico Madrid have signed defender, Cristian Romero from Tottenham Hotspur for £34.2m.
Romero’s move comes after he fell out of favour under Roberto De Zerbi and missed Spurs’ final six matches of last season due to a knee injury, which he suffered during a 1-0 loss at Sunderland in De Zerbi’s first match in charge.
The 28-year-old Argentinean also courted controversy during his injury lay-off after he intended to skip Tottenham’s final-day home clash against Everton in the race for Premier League survival, in favour of a trip back to Argentina to watch Belgrano’s title-decider against River Plate on the same day.
He however was forced into an U-turn due to widespread backlash over his decision as club captain, which led him to instead be present in North London as Spurs beat Everton 1-0 to avoid relegation to the Championship, whilst Belgrano won the Torneo Apertura title.
Further controversy befell Romero in the semi-finals of this summer’s FIFA World Cup after Argentina came from behind to beat England 2-1 to reach consecutive finals, as he was caught holding a political banner stating ‘The Falklands are Argentine’ alongside various teammates.
Romero subsequently attracted interest from Inter Milan, Barcelona and Spurs’ North London rivals, Arsenal, but the club eventually agreed a £34.2m transfer fee with Atletico plus add-ons and a 15% sell-on clause in the event of a future sale.
The Argentinean posted a farewell message on X thanking Tottenham for five years of memories and UEFA Europa League success.
“Today, I say goodbye to a place that, for five seasons, was much more than a club. It was my home, my challenge and the place where my family and I built such an important part of our lives. I leave with a heart full of memories and enormous pride for everything we lived and achieved together. When I arrived, I had a clear dream: to leave my name in this club’s history.
“I knew the only way was through hard work, sacrifice and achieving something that had seemed so difficult for so long: lifting a trophy again. **And we did it.** The journey wasn’t perfect, but I don’t want that to define my goodbye.
“I choose to remember the happy moments, the lessons, the people who stood by me and, above all, the love I received during these five years.
“Thank you to everyone at the club who shared this journey with me. Coaches, teammates, staff and every person working behind the scenes you are all part of my story and have a place in my heart. And to the fans: Thank you for loving me, respecting me and making me feel like one of you from day one.
“Thank you for every hug, every song, every flag, every applause and for always being there. I know I wasn’t perfect, but one thing gives me peace: I always gave everything. I defended this shirt with pride and with all my heart. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING I’m leaving the club, but a part of my heart will always remain here.
“Once I was one of you. Today, I leave as one of you forever. With all my love and respect. Thank you for everything. And goodbye [Tottenham].
Today, I say goodbye to a place that, for five seasons, was much more than a club. It was my home, my challenge and the place where my family and I built such an important part of our lives.
I leave with a heart full of memories and enormous pride for everything we lived and… pic.twitter.com/Bc340TKNtq
— Cuti Romero (@CutiRomero2) August 14, 2026
Across his time at Tottenham, Romero produced 13 goals and seven assists in 156 appearances and was part of their 2024-25 UEFA Europa League title-winning squad.
He also achieved success at international level with Argentina during his time in North London as he was part of their title-winning Finalissima and FIFA World Cup squads in 2022, as well as at Copa America in 2024 and was part of the team that finished runner-up to Spain at this summer’s World Cup.
Leave a Reply